Pyramids



[|www.nicepicture.info] **__// Pyramids //__**By Mayi Yang  Pyramids were built as tombs for the pharaohs and their wives, the queens. Pyramids usually have four or five sides. These sides face north, south, east, and west. The outer surfaces of the pyramids are triangular and all the sides connect at the top point. The Egyptians believed that the dead pharaoh’s spirit will rise with the sun, each day, and return to the pyramid (where the pharaoh’s body lays) to renew itself for the next day.

The inside of pyramid is where the pharaoh is buried. The inside is filled with trap doors, passage ways, false passages and the king’s chamber. The king’s chamber is filled with gold objects, writings on the walls, and the king’s tomb. The king’s chamber is filled with valuable objects because the Egyptians believed that if you bury someone with valuable objects, in the next life, that person would be rich, and have a happy life. Pyramids were built at the beginning of the Old Kingdom until the end of the Middle Kingdom. The early pyramids weren’t as advanced as the newer ones. The early pyramids were small, made of rocks and mud bricks with uneven sides. Later pyramids were more advanced, bigger and stronger. For years, the pharaohs build pyramids for their tombs, but pyramids were so big that it attracted robbers from miles away. Pyramids were also very expensive to build so they stopped building the pyramids and they started burying pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings.  Men workers were paid with meals for building the pyramids. Most of the workers were farmers who worked on building the pyramid during the flood season when their fields were under water. The large blocks of stone were cut from quarries nearby. The blocks were dragged by groups of men across the desert to the site of the pyramid and set in place. After the first level of blocks was in place, the workers built ramps of mud brick, limestone chips and clay. The workers dragged the large stone up the ramps to build the next level of the pyramid. For about 20 years, hundreds of men worked on building the pyramid. As they built each level, they also built up the ramps around the pyramid. When they pyramid was almost finished, a special block covered in shining metal (either gold or electrum) was placed on the top of the pyramid. Then, blocks of white limestone from quarries across the Nile were used to cover the pyramid. The blocks were trimmed to make the outside of the pyramid smooth. Finally the pyramid was finished!  There are more than a hundred pyramids in Egypt. In 2008, 138 pyramids were discovered and 118 pyramids were identified. Pyramids are one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world. They are the only one of the ancient wonders still standing. __//**The Great Pyramid of Giza**//__ By Pascal Swarbrick   The Great Giza pyramid was built on a plateau. Pharaoh Khufu, like all the other pharaohs before him, began planning his ‘house of eternity’ as soon as he took the throne. A spot was chosen by him to build the pyramid which is on the west bank of the Nile River. Cemeteries or graveyards were built on the west bank because the sun ‘died’ on the western horizon. Khufu’s architects were wise and experienced workers. They knew the importance of building their pharaoh’s final resting place or his tomb. So the pyramid’s sides faced directly north, south, east and west. They would plan a large pyramid- the largest one ever built in ancient Egypt. The outlines of the pyramid were also measured and marked in the desert sand. Then they started to build, the large blocks of stone were cut from quarries nearby. They were dragged by groups of men across the desert to the site of the pyramid and set in place. Most of the workers were farmers who worked on building the pyramid during the flood season when their fields were under water. After the first level of blocks was in place, the workers built ramps of mud brick, limestone chips and clay. The workers dragged the large stone up the ramps to build the next level of the pyramid. For about 20 years, hundreds of men worked on building the pyramid. As they built each level, they built up the ramps around the pyramid. When the pyramid was almost finished, a special block covered in shining metal (either gold or electrum) was placed on the top of the pyramid. Then, blocks of white limestone from quarries across the Nile were used to cover the pyramid. The blocks were trimmed to make the outside of the pyramid smooth and finally Pharaoh Khufu’s pyramid was finished. THE GREAT PYRAMID   [|www.ianandwendy.com] 

[|www.wikipedia.org]  [|www.images.google.com] [] homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/pyra1. ht m (Book)Visiting the past: The Pyramids by: Haydn Middleton
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